BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS

Bahrain Victorius faces its 6th season in the cycling frontline, after its debut in 2017. Much like Astana has been doing over the past decade, the team represents an oil-rich country looking for a place on the global sport scene, under the initiative of Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa. The 30-year-old occasional triathlete is the son of the king of Bahrain, the president of the national Olympic Committee, the commander of the Royal Guard and, now, the owner of a cycling team backed by a consortium of Bahraini companies. If Vincenzo Nibali was the face of the team when it first started, now it is the Spanish rider Mikel Landa, as well as Jack Haig and Pello Bilbao, who leads it. The Basque rider began the season burdened by a fall during the Giro that ended his chances in the Italian tour. Following a six-year absence, the rider from Murgia may find in La Vuelta an opportunity to recover from a tough 2021. At the moment, the team’s most recent joys have come mainly from Dylan Teuns, who obtained a new stage victory in the Tour de France 2021 (after his first stage win in 2019) and wore the red jersey for one day during La Vuelta 19.